|
Consumers take control of
brands
The CEO of Procter & Gamble, one of America's most
tradition-bound brands, recently told an audience of
advertisers that they need to "let go" of their brands to
focus less on being in control and more on being in touch.
As described in Advertising Age, P&G's A.G.
Lafley led off the Association of National Advertisers
conference last month proclaiming that now the consumers are
the boss. They operate in a "let-go" world created by media
fragmentation and the emergence of user-generated content,
which ranges from blogs and podcasts to YouTube videos and
MySpace sites. He urged marketers to relinquish control of
their brands to the consumers, to allow "pull" rather than
impose "push" so that consumers can shape the brand's image.
Ad Age notes, "The cry was somewhat unexpected, coming
from the chief of the consumer-goods marketer and advertising
titan well know for carefully controlling perceptions of its
sprawling collection of brands."
Lafley's "let-go" manifesto, however, reflects the new
reality generated by the proliferation of consumer-created
media and the shattering of conventional mass media into
uncounted outlets appealing to niche markets. This phenomenon
is explored in a white paper released this month by Airfoil.
Called "A Fractured New Universe with Thousands of Stars," the
paper reviews implications from the continuing convergence of
consumer PR with technology PR.
It observes that, "with surprising suddenness, technology
has placed control of the marketplace in the hands of the
consumer," who now shuns media that seek mass appeal in favor
of a constellation of niches where each consumer can find the
products, services, information and entertainment that match
his or her preferences and lifestyle. Today's marketplace
favors niche "influencers" and publications over conventional
media superstars and conglomerates; Airfoil CEO Lisa
Vallee-Smith notes in the paper that "we are so used to trying
to thing 'big' in this business that it's a real shift to try
to think small."
The result is that PR practitioners are changing their
focus to reach out to smaller but often more influential media
than the traditional national dailies and monthlies. "Today it
is generally less valuable to be a short-lived hit in the
broad market than to be an enduring icon within a loyal
niche," the white paper asserts. Moreover, with consumers
controlling brand marketing by creating their own media with
new technology, PR professionals must employ both consumer and
technology PR techniques to communicate with these niches,
where the distinction between consumer products and tech
products is a moot point.
For a copy of the full whitepaper, please contact Airfoil
at info@airfoilpr.com
back to
top
%20of%20New%20Image.GIF)
Metro newspapers gain quite a byte of
readership
Local newspapers are alive and clicking, despite the
continuing drop in their print circulation. As reported in
Editor & Publisher, the Newspaper Association of
America (NAA) calculated that the number of Americans visiting
newspaper Web sites jumped 31 percent in the first half of
2006, compared with the same period last year. That amounted
to more than 55.5 million unique visitors to the online
versions of local papers, one-third of all Internet users.
Rather than abandoning their metro newspapers, readers are
simply shifting (in droves) from the printed page to the more
timely, easy-to-browse, multimedia Internet editions. In fact,
notes E&P, the NAA is pushing toward measuring
"total audience"-the combined readership of print and online
editions-rather than the longstanding benchmark of circulation
figures.
E&P quoted NAA Senior Vice President and CMO
John Kimball as explaining, "We are not trying to diminish the
importance of net paid circulation," adding that, by looking
only at circulation, advertisers miss the biggest part of the
story.
NAA found that, for adults 25 to 34, the newspapers with
the greatest increase in total reach through their Web sites
during the period measured were the Washington Times
(60.2 percent); the Desert Morning News in Salt Lake
City (52 percent); the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (48.3
percent); the Tampa Tribune (36.7 percent); and the
Daily Herald in Arlington Heights, Ill. (35
percent).
Separately, the NAA reported that daily print circulation
of U.S. newspapers fell another 2.8 percent in the six months
ending in September, with only the New York Post and
the New York Daily News gaining in circulation.
"Without a doubt, metro newspapers continue to be a primary
news source for local markets across the nation," observed
Airfoil Vice President Eric Kushner. "Pitching story ideas to
local newspapers requires the same level of acumen and
professionalism that national and trade media require, plus a
well-honed understanding of each particular community and the
ways that newspapers in general are using the Web to expand
interaction with readers."
back to top
Small Business
Podcast.com
Business consultants, industry experts and small-business
executives are gaining global recognition through www.smallbusinesspodcast.com,
a business-advice Web site that features weekly interviews on
topics of interest to small-business owners.
The audio interviews (at least one new show per week),
usually run 10 to 20 minutes and are launched very easily and
quickly from the site's home page. Simply click on the "Play"
button next to the program description and the show begins
immediately, with no downloading or buffering required if you
have installed Macromedia Flash. The broadcasts also can be
played in Windows Media, RealPlayer or an mp3 stream. The
broadcasts also can be played in Windows Media, RealPlayer or
an mp3 stream. The site provides a range of feeds for
downloading new programs, including RSS, iTunes, MSN, Yahoo,
Google, AOL, Bloglines and Newsgator.
Recent subjects for these podcasts have included
cause-based marketing in association with charities, profiles
of small-business executives, wealth creation for
small-business owners and competing on quality instead of
price. Small Business Podcast asserts that an average of 3,500
people listen to each interview on the first day it is
released, and it is called up 5,000 more times after it is
moved to the site's readily accessible archives, with 85
percent listening to the interview in its entirety. The site
claims more than 5,000 unique listeners each month, a number
it says is growing.
The site also offers printed news of value to small
businesses, along with other information and advice. Those who
sign up for the site's free newsletter receive interviews
available only to subscribers.
"Small Business Podcast presents an opportunity for clients
who market to small businesses, as well as smaller companies
with a great story to tell, to obtain exposure to thousands of
eager entrepreneurs," says Airfoil Account Supervisor Todd
Krieger. "It can boost recognition of an executive as a
thought leader and serve as a highly credible reference point
in public relations, marketing and sales efforts."
back to top
PR News publishes Airfoil
advice in guide
The newly
published PR News Media Training Guidebook
features an article by Airfoil Director of Editorial Services
Steve Friedman, a veteran trainer with more than 20 years of
experience in coaching top-level executives. In the chapter
called Legal Limbo, Steve provides advice on avoiding
corporate lingo, using acronyms and escaping a number of other
word traps to which newsmakers are prone. PR News
(which is the same seasoned age as Steve) describes itself as
"the most trusted, executive level, reader-supported
publication that helps enhance the business impact of
PR."
back to top
Higher thinkers join California and Southfield
offices
Jean Lombard becomes a key strategist in
Airfoil's Silicon Valley office in her role as account
director and initially will work on special projects for the
PayPal account. Jean joins Airfoil after operating her solo PR
practice for four years in San Francisco, where she worked
with a stem cell research organization and a health care
software company. Previously, she held director-level contract
roles with enterprise software providers Siebel, TIBCO and
Movaris. Before starting her consultancy, Jean was account
director at Red Whistle, a Shandwick-backed agency in San
Francisco focused on start-ups and emerging technologies.
Prior to that Jean spent nearly five years with Golin/Harris
in the agency's New York, London and San Francisco locations,
working with a variety of consumer software and technologies.
She also developed PR programs for consumer brands like Circle
K, Teva Sandals and Activision while at Morgen-Walke
Associates, an investor relations agency. Jean holds a
bachelor of arts degree from the University of Michigan, with
majors in journalism and English.
Corinne Alpers, joining Airfoil's
business-to-business practice area as an account executive,
will provide counsel and implement media and analyst relations
programs for Microsoft and other clients that offer
emerging-technology products and services. Previously, Corinne
worked with Waggener Edstrom in Bellevue, Wash., supporting
the Microsoft Security Technology Unit's product and consumer
safety teams. There, she drove PR efforts for Microsoft's
security solutions for small to mid-sized businesses and for
consumers. Corinne earned her bachelor's degree in journalism
from Oakland University in 2004.
Jeff Lutz
serves on the Airfoil business-to-business team as an
assistant account coordinator, supporting the Microsoft and
CareTech accounts. Prior to joining Airfoil, Jeff was on the
NBC team covering the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy where he
shared his passion for curling via CNBC's behind-the-scenes
coverage of the games and assisted the on-air talent.
Previously, Jeff worked with the news department for NBC's
affiliate in Traverse City, Mich. and held various positions
in the sales & marketing departments for WGMC-FM in Oak
Park, Mich., and WMYD-TV in Southfield, Mich. Jeff earned his
bachelor of science in broadcast journalism from the S.I.
Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse
University, where he was named Top Emerging Leader in
2003.
back to
top
|
